


You, Me and Duncan

by Orangepenguin24



Series: Different not broken [2]
Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Brain Injury Recovery, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:48:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25232674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orangepenguin24/pseuds/Orangepenguin24
Summary: Every time Matt begins to heal life throws a new obstacle in his way.Follows on from I’m “fine”
Series: Different not broken [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828000
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	You, Me and Duncan

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I hope you enjoy this. Any criticism welcome, Thanks for reading.
> 
> TW: mentions of the death of a child.

Kelly stared in shock at the unconscious form lying in the bed in front of him, he couldn’t believe they were here again. No matter how much they tried they always seemed to end up back in the same place, life seemed to have it out for poor Matt. Kelly’s heart pounded in his chest as his eyes scanned over Matt’s battered body, he gulped as his eyes landed on Matt’s right leg. The limb was surrounded by a thick white cast, he feared the broken leg would set Casey back, his mental state was still incredibly vulnerable . Kelly had no idea how long it would be until Matt could return to work, he knew how badly Matt reacted to having to stay at home. Most people would see escaping with just a broken leg as a positive, but Kelly knew that to Matt a broken leg could be as dangerous as a collapsed lung. To think a few hours ago Matt had been arguing with Kelly, insisting he no longer needed a psychiatrist and Kelly had been extremely close to agreeing, now Matt would need all the help they could get.

Once again Matt had injured himself during an act of self sacrifice , while rescuing people from a fire in a bar the building had begun to collapse, Matt had spotted a large beam hurdling towards Kidd and he immediately shoved the other firefighter out of the way before she could get hurt, unfortunately the beam had landed straight on top of his leg pinning him in place for over fifteen minutes, Matt had been spared the long agonising wait as he’d hit his head on the floor knocking himself unconscious, Kelly was petrified what the effects would be on Matt’s fragile head . Will had assured him that the scans showed no sign of a bleed on the brain but there was still the huge possibility of other complications. The rest of fifty one including a guilty feeling Kidd were sitting anxiously in the waiting room, while Kelly stayed by Matt’s side as he waited for him to wake up.

As he sat in the empty room clinging onto the blonde’s hand he began to reflect on the past few months. Their trip to cabin felt like years ago but less then four months had passed, despite the small amount of time Matt had made significant progress, he still had a lot of obstacles in his way but he was starting to live again instead of just existing. To his chagrin Matt still attended weekly appointments with his psychiatrist and he'd been prescribed medication to help him with his recovery. Also Matt was yet to reclaim his position of captain and leader of truck eighty one but Kelly wasn’t so sure that was a negative. Late one night Matt had admitted that he was enjoying being just another firefighter on truck, he loved leading but he liked feeling closer to his team, he no longer felt like an outsider. Kelly knew Matt was afraid of loosing everyone’s trust after becoming captain again. The only thing Matt missed was the privacy of having his own office, On the days when he felt overwhelmed he often resorted to hiding in Kelly’s, at first the squad lieutenant had been amused by Matts behaviour, but he never once complained about the blondes presence, in fact he welcomed it wholeheartedly. He and Matt had grown extremely close over the past year, Kelly would go as far to say they were even closer than they were before Andy’s death, something which felt impossible only a couple of years ago. 

Casey would never return to how he was before his mother’s death but he was doing ok, he had eventually come to grips with his new reality, he was different now but definitely not broken. However there were still days where he refused to leave the comfort of his bed and he’d only talk to his loyal companion Duncan. The pooch had become Matt’s guardian and was often the only thing that could make the firefighter smile after a tough day. The worst days were when they’d had calls involving children; Noah would forever be on Matt’s mind but he’d learnt to focus on the lives he could save, every time he put on his turnout gear and jumped aboard the truck he did it for Noah.

-  
Kelly listened to Matt’s breathing with concern etched across his face, he silently prayed Matt’s leg would turn out to be Casey’s only serious injury, the last thing the blonde needed was anymore set backs, especially now. The anniversary of Noah’s death was only a month away, while his mother’s anniversary was in two weeks. Kelly had already been greatly worried about how Matt would handle the impending anniversaries, he almost lost Matt this time last year, he wasn’t sure he could survive that again.

“Any news yet” inquired a friendly voice pulling Kelly out of his thoughts, Severide briefly spared a glance at the man stood beside him, Boden was studying Matt intently with eyes full of concern.  
“They had to put him under to set the bones, Will said he should be awake soon” informed Kelly plastering a smile on his face in the hopes of appearing optimistic, but Boden saw straight through Kelly’s facade, he could feel the worry radiating off the tired squad lieutenant.  
“How long do they think it will be until he gets back to work?” Asked Boden wary of the answer, he knew how crucial it was for Matt to be at work surrounded by the people he loved during this time of year.  
“Too long” .

-

Soft mumbling filled Matts ears, he kept his eyes screwed shut as he tried to make sense of the muffled noises surrounding him , after a few moments he could hear the telltale sounds of machines beeping and internally groaned, once again he’d landed himself in the hospital, anymore visits and he just as well move in he thought bitterly. Suddenly terror spread through the injured firefighter, where was Kelly? He couldn’t loose another a friend, especially not Kelly, he was Matt’s rock. He was also abruptly reminded of the last time he was in the hospital causing his fear to intensify , what if he had failed again? what if another family had been left to grieve just like Noah’s parents?Matt would never forgive himself if once again someone was forced to bury their child because of his failure. He attempted to open his eyes but as the light flooding sent pain shooting through his brain he was forced to screw them shut again, he began to frantically toss from side to side as much as his wounded body would allow.  
“Hey buddy, shhh everything’s ok, you’re in the hospital”, the warm voice pierced through the panic engulfing Matt’s mind.  
“Kel?” he Croaked, the tension easing from his body as he felt Kelly gently stroking his hair, he leaned into the touch and his breathing began to slow down.  
“Yeah Case it’s me, everything’s alright” comforted Kelly in a calm steady tone.  
“No one hurt” murmured Matt struggling to get the words out fast enough.  
“Just you Matt ” replied Kelly chuckling slightly hoping to brighten the mood, relief spread through Kelly as a smile appeared on Matt’s face and his blue eyes peered up at him.  
“What happened?”  
“Building collapsed, You saved Kidd, you pushed her out of the way” explained Kelly before pausing to take in Matt’s expression, his heart was exploding with relief at Matt’s alertness.  
“Good firefighter ” mumbled Matt as his eyelids fluttered, he had been suddenly hit by a wave of exhaustion.  
“You’re right Matt but you are too” insisted Kelly as he scrubbed a had across his face, it terrified Kelly that Matt would never understand his own worth, until Matt learned that his life was as valuable as everyone else’s they’d continued to wind up back in the hospital; Kelly wasn’t sure how much more damage Matt’s body could take.  
“Now go back to sleep, you need the extra energy” instructed Kelly as he watched the blonde battle with the overwhelming tiredness sweeping over him. He knew Matt would try to stay awake for his sake, damn it Matt you’re need to please everyone is going to get you killed.  
“Mm luv you Kel” Matt whispered his voice heavy with sleep, despite the fog clouding his mind he knew he needed to let Kelly know how much he meant to him, after all he’d saved his life more times than he could count.  
“Love you too buddy” responded Kelly, despite how much it hurt to watch Matt go through battle after battle he’d never leave the blonde’s side, he would be with Matt until the very end.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I hope you enjoy . I know it may seem bleak but I intend to give this story lots of happy moments but still a big dose of Casey whump.
> 
> I’m sorry matt is extremely out of character just like in I’m fine.
> 
> Stay safe, and have a good day: )


End file.
